A Community Coffee held by the Medicine Hat Public Library. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat Public Library)

By Jesse Gill

Provincial Funding Cut

Medicine Hat Public Library’s Community Coffee program to serve its last cup on March 30

Mar 17, 2026 | 8:47 AM

The Medicine Hat Public Library’s Community Coffee program will serve its last cup on March 30.

The program, which was supported by the Alberta government’s Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services, is being defunded.

In 2023, Community Coffee was recognized with the Minister’s Award for Municipal and Public Library Excellence.

In a letter at the time, then minister Ric McIver commended the library on its “innovative efforts to help marginalized individuals earn income, build social connections, and more fully participate in community life.”

The library states that the program has been a launchpad for community members seeking to improve their wellness, stabilize their housing or financial needs, and build employment skills.

WHAT'S ON

Here's what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat: March 13-15

Mar 13, 2026

WHAT'S ON

Here's what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat: March 6-8

Mar 06, 2026

Local Author

Former Medicine Hat resident Johnson set to showcase novel 'Chipped' at mall

Mar 06, 2026

The program operated for nearly five years, supporting job skill development, social connections, inclusion, and intergenerational relationship building.

The Library Ambassadors who host Community Coffee each Monday and Friday morning also received a small amount of financial support from the program.

Other initiatives the Library Ambassadors are involved in include the Friends of MHPL book sales, working at large library events like Comic Con, and occasionally assisting with tasks like shovelling snow.

“All told, since the summer of 2021, the program has supported more than 300 of our valued community members to build strength and confidence in navigating their next steps with dignity, self-determination, and compassion,” MHPL social worker Shaina Hoadley said.

The library states that in the coming weeks and months, it will share stories of the positive impact the program has made on the lives of so many since its inception.

Both of MHPL’s social workers, Hoadley and Krystal Eirich, look to rebuild the program with local community partners, potentially through sponsorships and donations.

To learn more about Medicine Hat Public Library, visit mhpl.shortgrass.ca.